An observation...?

p2thaizarts · 01-05-2009, 12:16 AM

To me this seems like deja vu all over again. If I recall correctly, the last two seasons, the Raptors have had bad records going into Christmas.

It seems to me the previous two seasons during times that we had key players of ours sidelined due to injuries (Bosh, Ford, Calderon, etc), the rest of the team picked up the slack, and once the key players came back everything would be running very smoothly, and production from the bench would be up.

I was pondering this because we seem to be in a similar situation right now as we were in the past two seasons. With Calderon and O'Neal sidelined, Ukic, Solomon, and Bargnani seem to be stepping it up. Will history repeat itself? I hope so...

I think that having the star players sitting on the bench watching perhaps lets them get a better idea of what their teammates are capable of, and when they return are more in tune with the capabilities of their team.

Yeah just speculation I suppose, but it does seem to follow a trend.
What do you folks think?

**Jay** · 01-05-2009, 12:28 AM

I think when you lose important parts of your lineup, you are forced to simplify things and listen to your coaches more instead of relying on players to make plays for you. That being said, it's not like the Raptors were waiting on JO or Jose to really "make plays" as far as scoring goes, but when you have star players on the court, you always feel they will bail you out of trouble.

When you have guys out of the lineup, you have to start thinking about what your team strengths are and how you can make the most out of what you have available. It's all about maximizing the talent you can put on the court by running plays that conform to their abilities.

01-05-2009, 12:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
p2thaizarts is pounding the rock! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 152 Representing:	An observation...? To me this seems like deja vu all over again. If I recall correctly, the last two seasons, the Raptors have had bad records going into Christmas. It seems to me the previous two seasons during times that we had key players of ours sidelined due to injuries (Bosh, Ford, Calderon, etc), the rest of the team picked up the slack, and once the key players came back everything would be running very smoothly, and production from the bench would be up. I was pondering this because we seem to be in a similar situation right now as we were in the past two seasons. With Calderon and O'Neal sidelined, Ukic, Solomon, and Bargnani seem to be stepping it up. Will history repeat itself? I hope so... I think that having the star players sitting on the bench watching perhaps lets them get a better idea of what their teammates are capable of, and when they return are more in tune with the capabilities of their team. Yeah just speculation I suppose, but it does seem to follow a trend. What do you folks think?

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01-05-2009, 12:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
Jay is pounding the rock! Administrator Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,223 Representing:	I think when you lose important parts of your lineup, you are forced to simplify things and listen to your coaches more instead of relying on players to make plays for you. That being said, it's not like the Raptors were waiting on JO or Jose to really "make plays" as far as scoring goes, but when you have star players on the court, you always feel they will bail you out of trouble. When you have guys out of the lineup, you have to start thinking about what your team strengths are and how you can make the most out of what you have available. It's all about maximizing the talent you can put on the court by running plays that conform to their abilities.